On the October 9 episode of Days of our Lives, fans got a chance to walk down memory lane in the life of one Jennifer Rose Horton Alamain Blake Deveraux as the show celebrated actress Melissa Reeves’ 40th anniversary. Why soaps are the only genre that can pull off these kinds of celebrations, and why we love them for it!
Key Takeaways
- Jennifer was no saint as a kid.
- Jennifer and Jack’s love story lasted for decades.
- Jennifer’s other love interests were pointedly missing.
Run, Run, Runaway
Though little Jennifer Rose was born onscreen in Salem and spent several years growing up in front of our eyes, it wasn’t until Melissa Reeves took over the role in 1985 that the character really made her presence felt. She first appeared as a runaway teen who saw herself as a rebel and an outcast.
How fun was it to see Grandma Alice (Frances Reid) cut off all of her poor-me whining about how other girls hated her by telling Jennifer that maybe she was also responsible for her social issues? That’s the kind of tough love most of the characters currently on the canvas could certainly use!
You are the Love of My Life
Viewers were treated to multiple clips of Jennifer and Jack’s (Matthew Ashford) love story, from his many marriage proposals to the births of kids Abigail and JJ. We saw them being playful, and we saw them being serious.
We saw Jennifer reassure him about his adoptive dad, Harper, who turned out to be the Riverfront Killer. (As someone who was watching at the time, I stand by my position that, yes, Harper may have been a complete psycho, but he truly loved his adopted son, and Jack’s stepmother, Anjelica [Jane Elliot] — yes, Alex’s [Robert Scott Wilson] birth mother — loved Jack, too.)
